Index

A

Acoustic guitar:

compression, 185–6

equalization, 184–5

Acoustic instrument

miking, 105–11

close miking, 107–8

condenser

microphones, 105

guitar and vocal, 109–10

large diaphragm

microphones, 105

microphone levels, 106–7

not-so-close miking, 108

on-instrument

microphones, 109

optimum sound

techniques, 105–11

room size issues, 110

tube microphones, 105

two microphones, 108–9

Acoustic instruments

setup, 103–5

about stringed

instruments, 103

player placement, 104–5

string changing, 103–4

See also Electric guitar

setup; Horns;

Piano…

Aliasing, 287–8

Alignment tones, 272

Ambiance, echo and

reverb, 254

Amplifiers, 140

power issues, 142

See also Electric guitar

amplifier miking;

Electric guitar setup

Audio spectrum, 17–18

instrument ranges, 19

B

Bass guitar:

compression, 180–2

equalization, 179–80

Bass traps, 134–5

Bell curve, equalizers, 146

Binary codes, 284–5

Bit depth, 138

Bit processors, 285

Bouncing (combining/comping), 226–7

C

Cables/cabling, 30–3

balanced cables, 30–1

interference issues, 33

power cable routing, 33

running cables, 31–3

unbalanced cables, 30–1

Carr's drum tuning, 66

Cellos See Acoustic

instrument.…

Chorus:

and flanging, 261

for masking pitch

problems, 262

swooshing on, 263

Click track, 83–4

drummer's

requirements, 83

leakage issues, 84

off beats, 83

Clients, dealing with, 5–6

Clocking reference, 138

Combining (bouncing/comping), 226–7

Compact discs (CDs), 293–4

Compression:

acoustic guitar, 185–6

bass guitar, 180–2

electric guitar, 183–4

horns, 191

piano, 192

vocals, 187–90

Compressors/compressing, 153–60

about compressors, 153

attack/release, 155–6

compressing

techniques, 158–60

de-essers, 157

gain reduction meters, 156

input/output, 153

leveling amplifiers, 157

links, 156

multiband

compression, 156

peak limiters, 157

ratio, 153–4

sidechains/key in/ducks, 157

soft/hard knees, 156

splitting, 156

threshold, 153, 154

vacuum tube/valve

effects, 157

while mixing, 247–9

Computer usage, 10

Computer/electronic

drums, 84–6

Condenser microphones:

acoustic instrument

miking, 105

for overhead, 75–7

tube microphones, 38–9

Consoles, 143–4

about consoles, 143

headphone checks, 144

microphone checks, 144

mute before patching, 144

patch bay, 144

VU and peak meters, 144

Control room setup:

bass traps, 134–5

consoles, 143–4

equipment placement, 136

gear checking, 136

preparation, 135–6

rental equipment, 136

room limitations, 134

room sounding right, 134

spectrum analyzers, 133–4

See also Compressors/compressing;

Digital recording;

Equalizers/equalizing; Noise

gates; Speakers

Crossfades, 229

Cue mix, 201–5

for drummers, 205

headphone wearing, 204–5

importance of, 201–2

label instruments on

cue stations, 204

levels for, 201–2

phones off until start, 202

use dedicated reverb for

the local, 203

use of opposite polarity

speakers, 203–4

Cymbal miking, 75–7

clean the symbols, 77

and overhead

equalization, 174

D

Decay, 17

decibels (dBs), 18

Delay, 259–66

about delay, 259–60

ambiance tracks, 263

and chorus, 261

delay time, 260

depth/modulation, 260

with digital reverb, 263

and echo, 259–60

feedback regeneration, 260

halo effect, 264–5

and slapback, 264

with snare sounds, 265

speed or VSO, 261

with tambourine hits, 265–6

whirled series, 261

Digital audio stationary

head (DASH), 291

Digital audio

workstations

(DAWs), 7, 137

Digital conversion, 284–6

Digital editing See

Editing

Digital multitrack

recording, 291–7

compact discs (CDs), 293–4

digital versatile discs

(DVDs), 295–7

files with hard drives, 293

hard drives, 292–3

rotating drum, 291, 292

stationary heads, 291

Digital recording, 136–9

bit depth, 138

clocking reference, 138

DAW placing, 137

parameter setting, 137

plug-ins, 138–9

reference level, 138

sample rate, 137

sound cards, 137

standards, 137

Digital storage, 290–1

jitter, 291

pulse code modulation

(PCM), 290

Digital versatile discs

(DVDs), 295–7

Direct (DI) boxes, 53

Dither, 286–7

Documentation, 166–70

labels/labeling, 168

operational tips, 168–70

recording maps, 166–7

tracksheets, 166

Doubling with electric

guitars, 227–9

Drums:

compression, 174–7

electronic/computer

drums, 84–6

gates, 177–9

head changing, 62–4

placement/location

preparation, 59–62

preparation, 66–7, 170–1

Drums, equalization, 171–4

kick drums, 171–2

snare drums, 172–3

tom-toms, 173

Drums, miking:

cymbals, 75–7

kick drums, 68–71

overhead miking, 75–7

snare drums, 71–2

tom-toms, 73–4

Drums, tuning:

Carr's approach, 66

let drummers know

best, 66

snare drums, 64–5

tom-toms, 65

E

Echo:

and delay, 259–60

and reverb and

ambiance, 254

Editing, 229–31

crossfades, 229

merging, 229

minimizing clicks, 230

Effects recording, 224–5

Electric guitar:

compression, 183–4

doubling, 227–9

equalization, 182–3

Electric guitar amplifier

miking, 95–102

best spot finding, 101–2

close microphones, 96–7

with direct boxes, 99

microphone matching, 96

microphone types, 95–6

one distant

microphone, 98

padding, 96

semi-close

microphones, 97–8

three microphones, 100

two microphones, 98, 99–100

Electric guitar setup, 87–102

amplifier baffling, 91

amplifier placement, 88–91

amplifier setup, 93–5

loud amplifiers, 93–4

back-to-back direct

boxes, 92

bass amplifier issues, 89

connections, 91–2

direct boxes/outputs, 91

guitar condition/maintenance, 87

preparation, 94–5

reverberant rooms, 89

turn-ups and leaks, 90

Electronic/computer

drums, 84–6

Equalization:

acoustic guitar, 184–5

bass guitar, 179–80

drums, 170–3

electric guitar, 182–3

high hat, 174

horns, 190

piano, 191–2

room microphones, 174

vocals, 186–7

Equalizers/equalizing, 145–53

about equalizing, 147–8

bell curve, 146

frequencies to tones

chart, 149

frequency ranges for, 145–6

matching to situations, 148

pulling before adding, 149–51

Q values/curve/settings, 146–7, 150–1

smearing, 148

techniques for, 152–3

while mixing, 244–7

Error correction/

quantization, 288–9

F

Files with hard drives, 293

Flanging, 200

and chorus, 261

traditional methods, 262

Fletcher-Munson curves

chart, 200–1

Frequency, 12

frequencies to tones

chart, 149

fundamental

frequencies, 14

G

Getting it right, 193–4

Ground hum problems, 53–5

filter solutions

problems, 54

fluorescent lights, 54

ground lifter dangers, 54

guitar issues, 55

transformer solutions, 54

use of dedicated AC

power circuits, 54

Guitars:

levels and mixing, 269

See also Acoustic

instrument.…;

Bass guitar;

Electric guitar…

H

Halo effect, 264–5

Hard drive non-linear

storage, 292–3

Harmonics, 14–15

Headroom, 196

Hearing capabilities, 8–9, 17

High hat equalization,

174

Horns, 119–22

best practice, 121–2

compression, 191

equalization, 190

microphone pads, 120

one or more

microphones?, 120–1

ribbon microphones, 120

setting up, 119

transients, 121

Hum problems See

Ground hum

problems

I

Input processing, 286–90

aliasing, 287–8

dither, 286–7

oversampling, 289–90

quantization/error

correction, 288–9

sample and hold, 288

J

Jitter, and PCM, 291

K

Keyboard setup, 118–19

Kick drum miking, 68–71

consider sound

required, 71

dynamics, 69

head space, 68–71

for music style/writing, 69

tunnel usage, 70–1

Kick drums:

equalization, 171–2

gates, 177

L

Least significant bit

(LSB), 285–6

Levels See Sound

levels……

Loudspeakers See

Speakers

M

Mastering, 280–1

Microphone stands, 28–30

Microphones, basics, 33–6

definition, 33

diaphragm, 34

essential characteristics, 34–5

frequency response, 35–6

listening tests, 34

one good one at least, 7–8

pads/roll-offs, 40

phantom power, 35

pre-amplifiers, 35

proximity effect, 35

selection criteria, 36

transient response,

34, 36

Microphones, choices, 43–4

dynamic range issues, 43

matching to situations, 43

number required, 44

sensitivity, 44

Microphones,

placement/miking, 44–53

care and good practices, 44–5

close miking, 47

Decca tree stereo

miking, 52–3

distant miking, 48

four-to-one rule, 46

M/S (mid-side) stereo

miking, 51–2

port noise complaint, 46–7

‘spaced pair’ stereo

miking, 50–1

talkback microphones, 47

three-to-one rule, 45–6

X/Y stereo miking, 48–9

Microphones, polar

patterns, 40–3

cardioid patterns, 41

figure-8 patterns, 41–2

hyper-cardioid patterns, 42–3

omnidirectional

patterns, 41–2

super-cardioid patterns, 42–3

Microphones, types of, 37–40

boundary

microphones, 40

condenser

microphones, 37–9

for overhead, 75–7

tube microphones, 38–9

dynamic microphones, 37

Lavalier (lapel)

microphones, 40

ribbon microphones, 39–40

shotgun microphone, 40

Miking See under the

individual

instruments, and

Room ambiance;

Acoustic

instrument miking

Mixing, 235–52

basics, 242–4

cleaning up tracks, 250

compressing, 247–9

equalizing, 244–7

gates and sidechain, 249–52

loop mode, 241

noise gates, 250–1

preparation, 236–9

pulsing effects, 252

setting up, 239–41

speakers for, 237

tracksheet/recording

map, 240

See also Delay; Print

preparation;

Reverb; Sound

levels and mixing

Monitor mix, 199–201

flanging, 200

Fletcher-Munson curves

chart, 200–1

monitor the recorder

return, 199–201

panning the drums, 199

panning the players, 199

See also Cue mix

Monitors See Studio

monitors

Most significant bit

(MSB), 285–6

Multitrack recording

See Digital

multitrack

recording

Musical capability, 2, 10

N

Noise, electrical See

Ground hum

problems

Noise gates, 160–1

buzz problems, 161

chop effects, 161

hum, 160

with mixing, 250–1

on talkback

microphones, 160–1

O

Octaves, 16–17

Overhead miking:

avoiding air rush, 76

with condenser

microphones, 75

height/location, 75–6

Oversampling, 289–90

Overtones, 14, 18

P

Panning, while mixing, 268–9

Paperwork, 7

Payment issues, 6–7

Peak meter readouts, 20–1

Peak and volume unit

(VU) meters, 18–21, 144

Personal attributes:

general, 2–3

hearing capabilities, 8–9

keeping up to date, 7–8

musical capability, 2, 10

Phase issues, 55–8

phase, distance and

delay, 57

phase cancellation, 55–6

minimizing

techniques, 57–8

Piano:

compression, 192

equalization, 191–2

Piano miking, 112–18

close/distant

microphones?, 113

one microphone

setups, 114–15

shockmounts, 113

style issues, 112–13

three microphone

setups, 117–18

tube microphones, 113

two microphone setups, 115–17

Piano setup, 111–12

about piano setup, 111

leakage issues, 112

placing/preparation, 112

tuning, 111–12

Pitch, 15

and auto-tuning, 262

correction techniques, 221–2

Plug-ins, 138–9

Polar patterns See

Microphones,

polar patterns

Pre-amplifiers, 35

Print preparation, 272–5

adding life/polish, 274

alignment tones, 272

equalization and

compression, 274

offer with and without

compression, 272

run a safety of mixes, 273

sampling rate setting, 274

Print process, 275–8

extra hands for, 276

final checks, 275–6

print mix suggestions, 277–8

printing hot, 276

Print review, 278–80

all speaker types check, 278

consolidate a master

mix, 279–80

documentation, 279, 280

review levels, 280

safety copies, 279

Pulse code modulation

(PCM), 290

and jitter, 291

Pulsing effects, 252

Punching, 214–17

Q

Q values/curve/settings, 146–7, 150–1

Quantization/error

correction, 288–9

R

Recording, 207–33

best practices, 3–5

bouncing (combining/comping), 226–7

doubling with guitars, 227–9

editing, 229–31

end of session, best

practice for, 231–3

looping techniques, 223

maintaining player

contact, 222

multiple passes, 223

the part, 225–6

pitch, correction

techniques, 221–2

preparation for, 207–8

punching, 214–17

recommended

techniques, 211–14

recording effects, 224–5

vocals, tips for, 217–21

See also Tuning

pre-recording

Recording maps, 166–7

Recording studios See

Studios

Reference level, 138

Rental equipment, 136

Resonant frequency, 15–16

Reverb, 252–9

about reverb, 252–3

and echo and

ambiance, 254

good practices, 254–9

typical parameters, 253–4

Room ambiance miking, 77–83

boundary

microphones, 77

condenser versus

dynamic

microphones, 77

drums with few

microphones, 82–3

drums with five

microphones, 82

drums with four

microphones, 82

with microphones

outside the room, 78

one-microphone

set-ups, 78–9

three-microphone

set-ups, 80–3

two-microphone

set-ups, 79–80

Room microphones,

equalization, 174

Rooms:

resonant frequencies, 15–16

See also Studios

Rotating drum tape

recording, 291, 292

S

Sample and hold, 288

Sample rate, 137

Slapback, 264

Snare drum miking, 71–2

with dynamic

microphone, 71–2

with multiple

microphones, 72

room rattle issues, 72

Snare drums:

equalization, 172–3

gating, 177–8

tuning, 64–5

Solo button, best left

alone, 4

Sound, 11–17

audio spectrum, 17–18

decay, 17

frequency, 12

fundamental

frequencies, 14

harmonics, 14–15

and hearing

capabilities, 8–9, 17

octaves, 16–17

overtones, 14, 18

pitch, 15

resonant frequency, 15–16

sound waves, 12

wavelength, 13–14

Sound levels, 17–21

decibels (dBs), 18

peak meter readouts, 20–1

peak and volume unit

(VU), 18–21

sound pressure level

(SPL), 18, 20

Sound levels and mixing, 266–72

getting depth and

dimension, 270–1

getting started, 266–7

good practice, 269–72

guitar tracks, 269

panning, 268–9, 271

with tempo change, 270

vocals, importance of, 267–8

Sound levels for

recording, 195–9

adjusting early on, 197

headroom, 196

meters, use of, 196

minimizing noise, 198–9

minimizing signal

degradation, 197–8

small noises, watching

for, 196

trim knob, 195–6

Sound pressure level

(SPL), 18, 20

Speakers, 139–43

amplifiers, 140, 142

cables for, 142

crossovers, 139–40

debris problems, 141

nearfield monitors, 141

placing, 142

studio monitors, 139, 140

subwoofers, 141, 142

tweeters, 140

woofers, 140–1

Spectrum analyzers, 133–4

Stationary head open reel

tape, 291

Studio monitors, 139, 140

nearfield monitors, 141

Studios, 23–58

cables/cabling, 30–3

carpets and chairs, 28

instrument/people

placement, 25–8

microphone stands, 28–30

music style

considerations, 26–7

room preparation, 23–5

See also Ground hum

problems;

Microphones;

Phase issues

T

Tape, stationary head

open reel, 291

Tax issues, 7

Tom-tom miking, 73–4

cabling/polarity, 74

double-headed

tom-tom, 73

lowering ringing, 74

rattle reduction, 74

single-headed tom-tom, 73

Tom-toms:

equalization, 173

gating, 178

tuning, 65

Track layout, 163–5

about track layout, 163–4

console layout, 164–5

operating tips, 165

Tracksheets, 166

Trim knob, 195–6

Tuning instruments:

drums, 64–6

pianos, 111–12

Tuning pre-recording, 208–11

low levels best, 210

to pre-recorded tracks, 209

tuners, 208–9

tuning tones, 209

variable speed oscillator

(VSO)

techniques, 210–11

V

Variable speed oscillator

(VSO) techniques, 210–11

Violins/violas See

Acoustic

instrument….

Vocals, 123–31

background vocals, 129

best practices, 129–31

compression, 187–90

equalization, 186–7

finding best

microphone, 124–5

location issues, 125–6

miking, 126–8

recording, tips for, 217–21

setting up, 123–4

Volume levels, 1–2

Volume unit (VU), 18–21

and peak meters, 144

VU meter readouts, 20–1

W

Wavelength, 13–14

Work:

getting it, 8–10

networking for, 9